When in Roam

                                                                              Named after the short story, Rip Van Winkle-this     bridge crosses over the  Hudson River and was writte n by Washington Irving, who never visited Catskill & it's mountains near Albany, NY-but lucky me-I did. Thomas Cole & Frederic Church, Hudson River painters-1800's have houses there....so there I wandered to see where they got their inspirational landscapes, many years ago. F Church painting below, Cole's studio....Church was Cole's only student🎨🎨 and maintained a friendship across the Hudson River.  So, then I found this book in the gift shop of Mr. Church's house------ Perfect, don't ya think?And below Cole's easel-love it. Jo Marchant said in Smithsonian magazine-"..the passion of looking at a beautiful piece of art or listening to a piece of music. There is a human element...." xoxo

I drove to Boston, having never seen a full exhibit of H. Matisse. The Museum of Fine arts Boston curated this-he lived a long life and was heavily influenced by the broader world: Africa for one... So Matisse lived a longish life-1869-1954 So it makes me think-he spanned many other artists, so many other influences- Impressionism, Abstract Expressionism & many more. But he seemed to be loyal to his own vision- As evidenced by his affinity to pattern✅ He also loved setting up his studio- objects , cloths etc Art, art- just love it for opening my eyes!  How about you?

The Wethersfield Cove dates from the 1600's and connects to the Connecticut River Old Wethersfield was known for Onions and trading, but I also read-there were witch trials there.. yes  Can't have a bike without a basket! yes, that's a bell😀 That's a Killdeer, a shorebird for sure @ Hammonasset State Park in CT Had on my new bike gear💥 It seems like many more ppl are cycling, I met a man that was 92 years old, doing hills....⇧ 📚Ernest Hemingway said-" It is by riding a bike that you learn the contours of a country best, since you have to sweat up the hills and  coast down them"  Madison, CT --also an old CT town-!600's odd fact-Bill Clinton mentioned it in his autobiography Most of us know as a good boutique spot-cha ching💰& cute eateries... XOXO

Love the Herons, 64 different species, They like fish, of course and frogs took a quick bike ride--did you know that --we are approaching the 200 year anniversary of the bicycle Susan B. Anthony said -She who succeeds in gaining the mastery of the bicycle will gain the mastery of life........                                                xoxo

Quick visit to New York today Central Park

30th street station in Philadelphia, Penna In the spring of 2012, I set out via Amtrak on a solo trip to check out Philadelphia, Charlottesville ( my son lived there then)  and D.C. museums.. Yes Philadelphia, home of the  Pennsylvania Academy Fine Arts which opened in 1805 -it was  the country's first museum and art school.  my hotel room Beautiful exhibition, thank you Mr. Van Gogh Philadephia Museum of Art Philadelphia Flower Show  then a quick stop to the Philadelphia flower show– If you've never seen it put it on your bucket list Charlottesville Okay, well Charlottesville, home of 2 presidents-- Jefferson & Monroe, was less about the museums and more about the wineries ( there are 30+) - indulge, indulge a lot of museums in D.C.,     easy to get lost in the National Gallery of Art, which has been around since 1937--wonder what your favorite gallery around is????? xoxo

I like to go down to New York by myself often–now there's a place with surprises -here I am doing a picture with The Mario Brothers– Good I can share with my family, I thought,  but the Mario brother with the Red Hat said to me you better cough it up lady-ouch Oh well, when in Roam....